... won the Formula 1 drivers' championship five times in its first eight years: 1951 (the second year of the competition) and four consecutive years from 1954 to 1957.
The first champion, in 1950, was Italy's Giuseppe Farina; in 1952 and 1953 it was won by another Italian, Alberto Ascari. Following Fangio's four consecutive wins, the 1958 champion was Britain's Mike Hawthorn.
Fangio won the title with four different teams: Alfa Romeo (1951), Ferrari (1956), Mercedes–Benz (1955) and Maserati (1957). In 1954 he drove for Maserati in the Argentine and Belgian Grands Prix, then completed the season with Mercedes.
His five wins remained a record until 2003, when it was beaten by Michael Schumacher. The German went on to win seven titles, and in 2018 Fangio was joined on five wins by Lewis Hamilton.
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